The Child They Called a Burden

When I didn't move, my stepmother, Evelyn Parker, suddenly shoved my son, Theo.

Her face twisted with disgust. "What, are you deaf, just like your mother? Get out already."

Theo stumbled from the force of the push. I immediately scooped him into my arms. "Is that it? Your own daughter is a bastard, so you assume everyone else's child is too?"

Victoria Hart finally processed what I'd said. She pointed at me and shrieked. "Chloe! How dare you insult me! I'll teach you a lesson!"

She lunged for my hair, but I sidestepped her and kicked her to the floor. "A maid who slept her way into the family has no right to talk. The child she has is the real bastard here."

"You…" Evelyn's face turned red with rage. "You really are a piece of work. No wonder your mother couldn't teach you any manners. You're the one sleeping around. Yet, you're still here trying to play the victim."

She yanked a stack of photos from her purse and threw them at my face.

"I had someone keep an eye on you years ago. Weren't you selling your body overseas all this time? You probably don't even know who that bastard's father is."

I glanced down at the photos. They showed me getting into cars with different men.

What Evelyn didn't know was that those men were Julian Sinclair's bodyguards and assistants. And that Julian was the eldest grandson of the Sinclair family's main bloodline.

For generations, the main branch of the Sinclair family had controlled the family's global business empire, while the collateral branches handled domestic operations.

Evelyn and Victoria had no idea that the people they were so desperate to attach themselves to were nothing more than a minor branch of the family.

Evelyn's smile widened when she saw me falling silent. "What do you think will happen when your father gets home and sees these? Think he'll beat a shameless disgrace like you to death?"

I let out a cold laugh. "If you went through all that trouble investigating me, why didn't you find out who those men actually were?"

I shoved past them. "I came back today for my mother's belongings. I couldn't care less for the scraps you're fighting over."

"What belongings?" Evelyn stepped in front of me. "Your mother has been dead for years. Everything she left behind was thrown out long ago. Everything in the Hart family belongs to Victoria now."

Victoria crossed her arms and glared at me.

"Exactly. Don't think bringing a kid back with you means you get a share of the Hart family's fortune. Dad already decided that once I marry Elliot, everything in the Hart family will be mine. And you? You're nothing but abandoned trash."

Nicholas? He'd only gotten where he was by marrying into the Hart family. What gave him the right to make a decision like that?

Still, I wasn't interested in arguing with them. I had to retrieve my mother's belongings. There was something inside them that was far too important.

When they saw me continuing toward the room, Victoria grabbed a fistful of my hair and yanked me backward.

"How many times do I have to say it? This is the Hart family. You don't have the right to step foot in here anymore."

Theo wasn't about to stand there and watch me being pushed around. So, he rushed forward and sank his teeth into her hand. "You can't bully my mommy!"

Victoria cried out in pain. "You little bastard! How dare you bite me!"

She immediately reached for Theo.

I shoved her away and growled, "Victoria, listen carefully. Theo is a Sinclair. Even members of the Sinclair family have to show him respect. He's not someone you can afford to offend."

Julian had been born when the head of the Sinclair family's main bloodline was already well into old age.

As a result, Julian outranked him by three generations within the family even though they were about the same age.

This also meant that Theo outranked Elliot by miles in terms of family hierarchy.

Julian himself was hosting today's engagement ceremony.

As for Victoria? I doubted she'd ever make it through the doors of the Sinclair family now.